The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

[Deleted User]

Jo4 wrote: »

What savings account is best for saving for things weekly like Christmas, birthdays & anniversaries, car insurance, home insurance, tv license, car tax, car repairs etc? The person who this is for has so's set up on their current account which goes out weekly but they are saving with ING and I think they said they are getting 0.5% AER but I'll check the rate with them again.

At the moment they have a few accounts with ING and each is individually named for the things I previously mentioned however they would like this facility in their new account but is this possible?

Avoid setting up too many savings accounts.
I suggest that you start by putting your expenses into groups according to how frequently you pay out and whether the amount is known in advance. You pay in whenever you receive any income. This reduces the number of accounts and lets you see how over-spending from one account means tighteming your belt on others. Use whichever instant access accounts give the most interest at any given time. Switch ('tart' using this web site) when the bonus expires.

eg Yearly (individual amounts known) eg all types of insurance, tv license, car tax

Yearly (individual amounts unknown) eg ISAs, Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, major {above £50?} items such as a suit, furniture, re-decorating, car repairs, dentist & other medical costs. You may be surprised I include ISAs if you are on a low income and do not plan to save thousands. With any luck you will build up a cash reserve after a few months. After that you will find you have a spare cash reserve so you can put a little in an ISA every month. Eventually you will have to take some out to pay a major item but until then you will have screwed a few extra pounds out of the bankers. Never pay out until you have to unless they give you a discount for paying early.

Quarterly (individual amounts known) eg Rail season tickets

Quarterly (individual amounts unknown)eg gas,electricity,phone

Monthly (individual amounts unknown)eg credit/store cards (giving cash back or discounts, direct debit pay in full), food,entertainment, unpredictable bus and train journeys, petrol.
Because there are so many daily living expenses in this group you can only hope to contol the monthly totals.The amount in this account and on your credit card statement will warn when to put off an expense or go without.


If one group frequently goes over budget then identify the expense item causing the problem and set up a new group for it.

We used this method when first married and even inviting another couple for the weekend had to be budgetted for. It worked well and after a few years our spending/saving became automatic.

Spiggle

Jo4 wrote: »

What savings account is best for saving for things weekly like Christmas, birthdays & anniversaries, car insurance, home insurance, tv license, car tax, car repairs etc? The person who this is for has so's set up on their current account which goes out weekly but they are saving with ING and I think they said they are getting 0.5% AER but I'll check the rate with them again.

At the moment they have a few accounts with ING and each is individually named for the things I previously mentioned however they would like this facility in their new account but is this possible?

Hi,

I do this, piggy banking is what I call it, and it makes sure that you have the cash ready when monthly, irregular or annual payments come around. The account I use is the IF (Intelligent Finance) isaver as you can have 'jars' each individually named for the relevant expenditure. I have around 13 different jars within my 'plan'. (Make sure you apply for the isaver NOT the direct access saver.)

This account IS NOT a best buy, it's interest rate is 2.49% gross (before tax) but for me the 'jar' facility suits perfectly.

I've had this account for about 2 and a half years and the interest rate hasn't changed much at all. It doesn't have an introductory bonus so no need to diarise and sitch after a year. They could of course change this in the future but I'm very happy with this online only account.

Every month I have standing orders set up to go to each of the jars as each has it's unique number. Payments back to the linked accounts can be made by faster payments though I always allow one day for the payment to land in my account (More if a weekend is invloved).

If you come across any other accounts that have the same facility I'll be very interested.

Hope that helps,
Spigs

Mr._H_2

I just use a spreadsheet to keep track of "notional jars" of savings for different things. This allows me to use any savings account so I don't have to compromise on interest rate.

hollie.weimeraner

Mr._H wrote: »

I just use a spreadsheet to keep track of "notional jars" of savings for different things. This allows me to use any savings account so I don't have to compromise on interest rate.

Quicken 2002 is excellent for keeping track of different pots within the same account (Savings Goals) if you can still find a copy

RossGayle

Hello

My girlfriend has recently sold her flat and moved in with me. She will have about £67k after paying off debts to save.
We are hoping to emigrate to Oz in about 1 to 2 years. By this time I will also have sold my flat and will probably have another £35k to invest/put towards our move.
So my question is, where is the best place for her money in short term? (1-2 years)
We thought about putting £30k in to Premium bonds and the other in to the top paying easy access account, does that sound sensible??

Thanks in advance

Ross n Gayle

I-LOV-MONEY

Personally I would not put a large amount in Premium Bonds, although your money is always there, it will lose because of inflation - unless you are very lucky, you may only get a few £25 wins.

Have you both got ISAs ? Check the Best Buy tables for the good ones.

Obviously there will be a lot left over, but others will hopefully come on here with other suggestions.

Have you tried the I-Lov-Money' easy save account? Highly recommend by me !!! :beer:

sophiaedward123

Is really creating Hi-Saving- acc with ICICI bank is good?

Steve_xx

sophiaedward123 wrote: »

Is really creating Hi-Saving- acc with ICICI bank is good?

What are you saying?

I-LOV-MONEY

Last time I looked they had very low interest rates.

newsaverr

I'm new to this. looking to put some money away for a couple of years and keep some handy. I've been looking around all the websites - lovemoney, thisismoney, MSE etc. I've seen Islamic Bank of Britain 4% for 2 year bond and Santander 3.2% for instant access. also seen 4% from Sant for an ISA. anyone know of any others or reasons why noto to go for them? also wondering why Islamic Bank not on MSE site - Lovemoney and the others love 'em. A bit worried about the Santander accounts - heard their service is bad. HELP!